May 23, 2015

Living in the city....saddly things go missing from your pouch and yard. So you always have to be think before you just leave stuff out. I did not think that my flag and flag pole was one of these things. After having 2 taken. I made a PVC pipe on and was able to secure it better the the pole.

Getting to the point. My flag was getting old so I was changing it for the the holiday weekend it made me realize how wonderful PVC pipe it. All the things that can be done with it.

There is no single method or technique for survival fire
starting that works 100 percent of the time. That said, I carry a mini
Bic butane lighter in my pants pocket, my coat pocket and in my pack
whenever I go out. Here is what you can do to improve this product for
survival use. (The headline was forsensationalism – but it got you to read this far! Check out the video at the end of the story.).

May 21, 2015

Had bad vertigo yesterday....so I figured this post would be the perfect thurs post. I personally am taking meds for it now. But it does not always work. But it got me to thinking what if something happens, the meds I am taken are a compound (which means they make them just for me). So it is not like anyone will have this med for trade. I had to start learning about how to handle it without the meds.

First I am going to start with what I found strangely works the best for me. ( I still need the meds but I can go without them form time to time when doing the 3 things below.)

- MAKE SURE TO STAY HYDRATED!!! At all times!!!!!!!!!

These eye exercises have been working like a charm! If you have vertigo I suggest this as the #1 best thing ever!!! And yes they seem corny! -Eye exercises - I know this seems so lame, but I have severe vertigo and this is the one thing that stops a spell from happening. Now it may take a bit of time, but better than being down for a few hours. And if you do this daily a few times basic vertigo may even go away.

Also you have the standard moments for basic vertigo. Now these are even more lame but again they do help.

.
What are the Natural Remedies

There are several natural remedies to cure vertigo. I have tried everything and these are the ones that do help. Cure no, but help.

Stay Hydrated-
It is important to drink at least eight glasses of water. For a more
effective vertigo remedy, soak a tablespoon of coriander seeds in a
glass of water and leave overnight. The next morning, strain water and
drink. Similarly a mixture of black pepper, lemon juice and salt water
also helps. Another common natural remedy to cure vertigo is to soak
almonds, pumpkin seeds, a tablespoon of poppy seeds, and three
tablespoons of wheat. Leave these overnight. The following day grind
this mixture into a fine powder, while frying some butter with half a
spoon of cloves. Add the fine powder and a cup of milk to the pan and
bring to a boil. Drink this once a day to help negate symptoms.

Ginger-When taken during
an attack, it is said to offset symptoms within minutes. (This is some I do use). good to have in your garden.

Then you have Ginkgo Biloba- And it works great but it is not cheap and it is not something you can grow easily in many places

No Jerky Movements-
If you have vertigo you all ready know this but it is worth stressing it. If you feel that feeling take it slow and start doing the eye exercises above. And grab a glass of water and sip on that.

Focus-
This is something that also helps me. A friend that was a bartender taught me this one. He said that when folks drank to much he would have them do this so that they would not get sick...and strangely it works for vertigo to. When you feel the onset of an attack, focus on a stationary object
around you etc. Focusing on a fixed point sends
visual cues to the brain, allowing it to balance appropriately, stopping
the dizziness.

May 20, 2015

May, June, July, August & September are the months to
reproduce new plants from stem cuttings. I never really had any luck with
it. Why you may ask. Because I over thought it. With hormones and this and
that. The the old women next door said you are doing it wrong. Let me
show you.

The type of cutting and the timing for the propagation
depend upon the plant. That’s because not all plants have the same growing
habits or needs. Mostly because each plant has a growing season. so before
cutting learn about the cycle of the tree, it growth habits. This will help to
insure greater propagation success. Some outdoor plants are quickly propagated
by simply cutting a leaf or a branch and inserting it into a vase of water on a
bright or sunny window sill. The down side of rooting a clipping in water is
that the roots are often very brittle and will break or degrade when planted in
soil.

A much better way to start stem cuttings is by properly
preparing the it and planting it into sterile soil.

First

Fill the pots with the new soil.

Reason for the wide mouthed jars

Simple, stem cuttings need a lot of moisture to help the
roots grow. You will be putting the jar over the cuttings once they are in the
pot. (Like a green house) You can use large soda bottles (just make sure to
clean the really good).

When to do the cutting

The best time to do your clippings are in the morning. This
is when plants are at the most hydrated state. Place them in a bucket of water
while waiting to plant them. This will help reduce the stress on them.

When looking at the plant you are going to cut notice you
have leaves that are in fully open and some that are not. Try to cut the
ones that are still growing. And cut near a V section. The section on the stem
where the off shoot branch or the V notch contains specialized cells or growth
nodes that will readily root the stem section once it is properly
prepared.

So now we use the knife and the honey.

First make sure to strip around 2/3rds of the leaves from
the stem…we want all the work to be dedicated to rooting not feeding the
leaves. Now take the knife and gently scrape away the bark off the
clipping…around 2 inches. Make sure the white part of the stem is exposed. Now
on the scraped area pierce the stem in a few places (not to deep) this is where
the roots will form.

Time for the honeyDip that end you just scraped and pierced into some honey. (you can use the rooting hormone powder if you prefer but I have had better luck with the honey).

Now just stick the honey dip clipping into the pot of soil (make sure that the soil is nicely watered already). Make sure to stick it in past the scraped part at least and inch or so. Pat the soil around it to make sure it stands firm.

Almost there.....Now just place the jar or cut soda bottle over the clipping making sure it has enough room.Then flood the pot with water and put it in a semi shade area for 8 to 12 weeks. Make sure to...Keep the soil moist, DO NOT OVER WATER! To much or to little water will end in death of the clipping ...moist! In around 4 to 5 weeks the roots will start to appear. After around the 6th week take the jar off the top of the clipping for a few hours a day so it can get use the the environment. If it starts to wilt get the jar back on and give it a day or two before taking it off again. Come October you can transplant them into the ground. At around 16 weeks old . Make sure to mulch them good and with any luck they will survive the winter and you have a new tree or bush.

Now you can can skip the pot part of this and put the directly in the ground. But the only issue with that is keeping the moist enough to grow strong enough roots to make it through the winter. I think this may work good with per-annual herbs and smaller plants.